Olya Sadovskaya and Serge Troxel wed in St. Helena at the stately home of his mother and stepfather on July 15, 2015, in an outdoor ceremony that featured music by members of the Russian National Orchestra and opera singers. The home, built in 1921, was the home of decorated World War II Adm. John Benedict McGovern also a St. Helena mayor. less

Olya Sadovskaya and Serge Troxel wed in St. Helena at the stately home of his mother and stepfather on July 15, 2015, in an outdoor ceremony that featured music by members of the Russian National Orchestra and ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Wine entrepreneurs Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya wed July 15, 2015, in St. Helena. Here, the bride heads to the altar with her father, Vasili Sadovski. Timothy Blackburn, stepfather of the groom, served as officiant. less

Wine entrepreneurs Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya wed July 15, 2015, in St. Helena. Here, the bride heads to the altar with her father, Vasili Sadovski. Timothy Blackburn, stepfather of the groom, served as ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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For Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya’s wedding, an outdoor lawn surrounded by white roses served as site of the ceremony, and was later converted to a reception site with tables decked in Tiffany blue linens. Crystal chandeliers were strung overhead on wires, and lent a soft glow as night fell. less

For Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya’s wedding, an outdoor lawn surrounded by white roses served as site of the ceremony, and was later converted to a reception site with tables decked in Tiffany blue linens. ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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For the reception, guests were served three courses by Elaine Bell Catering: a salad, an entree of lamb, and a variety of small-bite desserts including eclairs — followed by wedding cake.

For the reception, guests were served three courses by Elaine Bell Catering: a salad, an entree of lamb, and a variety of small-bite desserts including eclairs — followed by wedding cake.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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On a 94-degree day, this salad by Elaine Bell Catering of tomatoes and burrata cheese was a refreshingly light way to start the dinner reception.

On a 94-degree day, this salad by Elaine Bell Catering of tomatoes and burrata cheese was a refreshingly light way to start the dinner reception.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Tables were set with country-inspired florals, and guests found their seats with placecards that referenced different varietals of wine.

Tables were set with country-inspired florals, and guests found their seats with placecards that referenced different varietals of wine.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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The cake for the wedding of Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya was made by Perfect Endings and decorated with frosting to resemble the Chantilly lace on the bride’s Vera Wang gown.

The cake for the wedding of Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya was made by Perfect Endings and decorated with frosting to resemble the Chantilly lace on the bride’s Vera Wang gown.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Guests signed a book and a special lable for a bottle of the groom's parents' Sherwood Estate cabernet was created to commemorate the occasion.

Guests signed a book and a special lable for a bottle of the groom's parents' Sherwood Estate cabernet was created to commemorate the occasion.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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It’s not everyone who can say that members of the Russian National Orchestra played at their wedding. The orchestra was in Napa for the Festival del Sole, and their services were donated to the couple by festival organizers. The groom’s parents had a hand in founding the festival 10 years ago, as philanthropists. less

It’s not everyone who can say that members of the Russian National Orchestra played at their wedding. The orchestra was in Napa for the Festival del Sole, and their services were donated to the couple by ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Operatic soprano Marnie Breckenridge and baritone Bojan Knezevic, accompanied by members of the Russian National Orchestra, serenade Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya at their wedding in St. Helena.

Operatic soprano Marnie Breckenridge and baritone Bojan Knezevic, accompanied by members of the Russian National Orchestra, serenade Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya at their wedding in St. Helena.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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As night fell, the music of a small ensemble of the Russian National Orchestra lent an intoxicating air to the reception — thanks in part to the lyrical phrasings of flutist Maxim Rubtsov.

As night fell, the music of a small ensemble of the Russian National Orchestra lent an intoxicating air to the reception — thanks in part to the lyrical phrasings of flutist Maxim Rubtsov.

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Wine entrepreneurs Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya served a variety of wines at their wedding, including Sherwood Estate cabernet. The officiant, Timothy Blackburn, in a white dinner jacket, is the groom’s stepfather. less

Wine entrepreneurs Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya served a variety of wines at their wedding, including Sherwood Estate cabernet. The officiant, Timothy Blackburn, in a white dinner jacket, is the groom’s ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya are the pride and joy of their respective sets of parents. So is the rose garden, created by the groom's mother and stepfather, Athena and Timothy Blackburn, at the wooded estate where the wedding occurred. less

Serge Troxel and Olya Sadovskaya are the pride and joy of their respective sets of parents. So is the rose garden, created by the groom's mother and stepfather, Athena and Timothy Blackburn, at the wooded ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Groom Serge Troxel wears his Hugo Boss tuxedo well in the 94-degree heat, while Olya Sadovskaya beams in a Vera Wang custom gown. The July 15, 2015 wedding in St. Helena was attended by family and friends, including vintners, modern art collectors and financiers. less

Groom Serge Troxel wears his Hugo Boss tuxedo well in the 94-degree heat, while Olya Sadovskaya beams in a Vera Wang custom gown. The July 15, 2015 wedding in St. Helena was attended by family and friends, ... more

Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

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Wine lovers make a fine pairing

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They grew up on opposite sides of the globe and had much in common, but Serge Troxel, 36, and Olya Sadovskaya, 27, would never have known it — or married — had it not been for an exchange program, a root canal and Walgreens.

In 2007, Troxel went to his dentist on Sutter Street, and afterward to a pharmacy nearby. There, he saw a young woman shopping. It was Sadovskaya, a history major at a Russian university who was studying English in the United States. He was struck by her smile and her bright eyes, but his mouth was numbed by surgery and he couldn’t smile back. “I tried to talk, and drooled,” he said. “I ran out the door.”

In 2010, he spotted her again at Whole Foods, but was too shy to say hello. A few months later, at a party for a friend of a friend, he spotted a familiar face across the room. It was Sadovskaya, who was a friend of that friend, too.

Sadovskaya, who stayed in San Francisco after the exchange program ended, was waitressing and studying at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She played cool to his face, but she remembered him from Walgreens and Whole Foods.

Troxel, who worked as an import distributor for a wine company, made small talk about the Gewürtztraminer she was drinking that night. The next night, over drinks in North Beach, they learned they’d both studied ancient history in college, liked classical music and loved Hemingway.

Over the next two years, they went on dates, one of them an evening summer picnic on Nob Hill. On a bench outside Grace Cathedral, Troxel set up Champagne, crystal flutes and pastries to nibble while looking at the stars.

“I absolutely knew she was the one,” he said, “but personally and professionally it wasn’t the right time to settle down.”

Both wanted careers in wine. To focus on their studies, they put the dating on hold. He earned a master’s degree in wine business from Sonoma State University and she earned a wine professional credential at the Culinary Institute of America. He went to South Africa to work the harvest at Delaire-Graff Estate. She landed the wine director’s job at Mezes Kitchen & Wine Bar in the Marina.

But when he returned to San Francisco last fall, he had new resolve. He invited her to dinner at his apartment, and she arrived to find the lights low, classical music playing, red roses strewn about, and, on a table, three bottles of wine wrapped in foil. In a blind tasting, she correctly guessed one was a private label Napa Cabernet they’d sipped on an early date. When he removed the foil to confirm her hunch about the second, a 1988 Chateau Margaux, she knew this was no ordinary dinner. Troxel had been saving it for a special moment, much like a character from Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.”

“The next thing I remember he went on his knee,” she said, “and presented a ring and asked in Russian if I’d marry him.”

The two wed July 15 at the home of the groom’s mother and stepfather, Athena and Timothy Blackburn, in St. Helena, with the groom’s father and stepmother, Doug and Deborah Troxel, of Kona, Hawaii, and the bride’s parents, Irina Sadovskaya and Vasili Sadovski of Russia, among the friends and family on hand.

In keeping with the couple’s love of classical music, members of the Russian National Orchestra, in Napa for the Festival del Sole (of which the Blackburns are supporters), performed at the wedding, as did operatic soprano Marnie Breckenridge and baritone Bojan Knezevic.

The couple not only live together, but work together at their startup, VinAtlas, which will import wine from abroad, blend it in the U.S. and sell the global fusion for $20 a bottle — aimed at people who care more about taste than terroir.

As unions go, theirs appears to be as solid as the red brick estate where they wed. “She’s my equal,” said Troxel. “She’s my partner. She’s the only woman I’ve ever been serious about.”

Luckily, Sadovskaya didn’t hold her first impression from the drugstore against him.

“I smiled, he smiled back and he started drooling on himself, which I found very funny,” she said. “I was used to seeing weird people, interesting people in the city, so it didn’t surprise me too much.”